Almighty
God, we beseech Thee, show Thy mercy unto Thy humble servants, that we
who put no trust in our own merits may not be dealt with after the
severity of Thy judgment, but according to Thy mercy; through Jesus
Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the
Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Readings

Isaiah 49:12-17

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Matthew 24:25-28

Sermon on the Holy Gospel

Grace
and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

1) As
we approach the end of the church year our focus shifts to the end times. Jesus
teaches us what is in store for us by first teaching us about the fall of
Jerusalem. Most of the today’s text deals with that event which happened around
70 AD when the Roman general Titus, laid siege to Jerusalem, killing countless
Jews through famine and finally sword. It is only at the end of today’s gospel less
that Jesus teaches about the coming of the Son of Man. He isn’t teaching that
He will return immediately after the fall of Jerusalem. But He is putting the
two events together. He is inviting us to view the end of the age through the
filter of the fall of Jerusalem because the fall of Jerusalem is a prototype
for the end of the world. As it went for Jerusalem, it will go for the world.
This means we should first consider what Jesus teaches His disciples about
Jerusalem’s fall.

2) He
tells the disciples that when they see the “Abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in
the holy place, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” The
abomination which Daniel foretold found one fulfillment in the idol which
Antiochus Epiphanies placed on the temple altar in 165 BC. 1 Maccabees 1:54 tells us that Antiochus’ men “set up the abomination of
desolation upon the altar, and builded idol altars throughout the cities of
Juda on every side.” That defilement of the temple
lasted only four years until it was cleansed and rededicated by Judas Maccabeus
and his brothers. Daniel’s words find their full fulfillment in the siege of
Jerusalem in 70 AD. Prior to the siege, a band of Jewish nationalists forcibly
entered the temple and slayed thousands within its gates, polluting the
sanctuary with innocent blood. This was the abomination of desolation Jesus
warns His disciples about. “When there is an abomination in the temple that
causes it to be desolate of worshipers, flee to the mountains. The one who is
on his housetop is to leave all his possessions behind. That one is not to stop
and collect his valuables from his home. The one who labors in the field under
the heat of the day is not to go get his outer garment he left under the shade
tree. Jesus tells them that when they see this abomination, their only option
is to run because it is a sure sign that God’s just judgment against Jerusalem
is near.

3) Consider
what Eusebius of Caesarea, the first church historian, wrote. “But the people of
the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved
men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of
Perea called Pella.And when those that believed in Christ had come thither from Jerusalem,
then, as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of Judea were
entirely destitute of holy men, the judgment of God at length overtook those
who had committed such outrages against Christ and his apostles, and totally
destroyed that generation of impious men.”[1] Jerusalem’s fall was the
result of her rejection and murder of Christ and her rejection and martyring of
His apostles. The Lord had been patient with Jerusalem, given them forty years
to repent of their unbelief and rejection of Christ. Because the Romans were
the instrument in God’s hand by which He executed judgment on the Jews,
Christians were not to dilly-dally, they were not to cling to their earthly
possessions, nor were they to look back on Jerusalem with desire, as Lot’s wife
looked back on Sodom and was turned into a pillar of salt. They were simply to
flee, leaving everything behind, because the same Lord that told them to flee the
coming wrath would also provide for all their needs of the body. He also showed
great mercy to His faithful by shortening those wretched days, for if that disaster
had been left uncheck by the Lord, it would have devoured everyone.

4) Christ also taught
them that in those days false Christs would appear and false prophets would
arise. They always do during times of calamity and the days of Jerusalem’s fall
would be no different. These false christs and false prophets would even do
signs and wonders that would be so convincing that, if it were possible, they
could even deceive God’s elect. They were not to chase after anyone and
everyone who claimed divine inspiration or direct revelations from God. Instead
they were to cling to the words of Christ and the prophetic and apostolic
Scriptures. Their faith was to be grounded and rooted in the revealed Word of
God, not in ramblings and babblings that claimed divine authority but spoke
differently than Christ and His apostles. Jesus is effectively reminding them
of what He taught them in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” St. John would teach the same thing when he wrote by God’s inspiration, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but
test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have
gone out into the world” (1 John
4:1). Jesus teaches them to expect false christs and false teachers so that
they are not scandalized by it, but rather accept it as reality and pray all
the more fervently that the Lord would keep them steadfast in His revealed Word
of the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Gospel. Jesus teaches them these things to
save their physical lives from the Romans and apostate Jews and also to save
their souls from the false teachers would devour their souls with false beliefs
about Christ.

5) After all this, Jesus says, “For as the lightning comes from
the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” By combining His return and the Last Day with the fall of Jerusalem, He
is teaching us to prepare for that day as His first disciples were to prepare
for the fall of Jerusalem. It should come as a shock to no one that we are
living in the last days. We have been living in the end times ever since Christ
ascended into heaven. The Christian is to take note of the abomination of
desolation which stands in the Holy Place. This is no longer the temple of
Jerusalem but the Christian Church. By this Christ wants us to identify
Antichrist, and flee from him. Paul write in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 that this man “opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is
worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he
is God.” In this we see the Roman Papacy, for the Bishop of Rome sets
himself up in the church as the head of Christ’s church, claiming authority by
Christ’s command. He opposes the Lord by demanding worship and works that have
never been divinely commanded. Yet he sits “in the temple of God” and obscures the true mercy seat, Jesus’
atoning sacrifice and salvation by grace through faith alone by his false
teachings. But the Roman Papacy is not the only spirit of antichrist, for St.
John warns his flock that “even
now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour”
(1 John 2:18). The Christian is to be ever-vigilant against such false
teachers, for “they are clouds without
water” (Jude 12) and can only lead men
astray from the truth of the gospel and lead them toward themselves and their
own merits and works.

6) Like the first disciples, when we witness such
abominations in the church and world we are to flee to the mountains. By this
He means that Christians are to escape from “the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 2:20).
We are to “Flee
alsoyouthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who
call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2
Timothy 2:22). We flee to the Holy Mountain, not to the worldly Jerusalem, but
to the Holy Mountain of our Savior Christ Jesus, where there is forgiveness of
every sin and new life through faith. Like the first Christians, we lift up our
eyes to the hills since “our help comes from
the Lord who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2). We are to daily flee to
Christ through repentance of our sins and faith in His gracious promise to forgive
all who repent and believe the gospel. As we daily flee from false teachers and
from the abominations of this world, we are to “not go down and take anything out of our house,” meaning that we
ought not to value our earthly
possessions more than our inheritance awaiting us in heaven. We are not
treasure earthly things and creature comforts to the point that we look to them
for every good thing in this life and thus lose sight of faith in Christ. Fleeing
the abominations of this world and our own sinful flesh which daily tempts us,
we are not to “go back to get our clothes” having been working in the
field. By this Christ teaches us to daily lay aside our sins as a garment, to
put off the Old Adam in us through daily contrition and repentance, so that we are
not overcome by sin and led into complacency and carnal security.

7) In this way, the fall of Jerusalem is the prototype
for the end times, and Christ’s teaching to His disciples is good for us as
well. In this He’s really teaching us nothing that He hasn’t taught us elsewhere
in the gospel. We are, as citizens of heaven, to flee the idolatries,
sensualities, and sins of the world. As children of God, clothed with Christ’s
righteousness through Holy Baptism, we are to daily live in that baptism by
putting off the Old Self and putting on Christ as our daily dress. As those who
look for the life of the world to come, we strive, with the aid of the Holy Ghost,
so that we do not conform to the pattern of this world but rather to live as
living sacrifices to our gracious Triune God. Since Christ has called us by the
gospel and enlightened us with His gifts, we strive to “make our calling and
election sure” by remaining steadfast in His Word and Sacrament in their truth
and purity. This is how our Lord wants us to endure: avoiding what is false,
treasuring and keeping close to what is true, and daily fleeing to Christ and
His pure gospel. Amen.

May the peace of God which
surpasses all human understanding guard your hearts and minds through faith in
Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Introit Vindicate me, O God, And plead my cause against an ungodly nation; Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!For You are the God of my strength; (Psalm 43:1-2a)

Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill.Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. (Psalm 43:3a, 4-5)Collect for Judica, the 5th Sunday in LentWe
beseech Thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon Thy people, that by
Thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore in body
and soul; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and
reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
Amen.